It (novel)

It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story follows the lives of seven children as they are terrorized by the demonic clown being, which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children.

The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person mode. It deals with themes that eventually became King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a traditional small-town values.